Palace cool to death penalty revival

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang is cool to calls to revive the death penalty in the wake of the brutal killing of a University of Santo Tomas (UST) graduate in Cavite last Wednesday.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte argued that there is no guarantee that those who would be meted capital punishment are really guilty of the crimes attributed to them.

“Until such time that we can be completely confident that those who may be sentenced to death are really guilty of the crime that they are being accused of, we will not favor that for now,” Valte told radio station dzRB yesterday.

Valte was reacting to a statement by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) that reviving death penalty would deter criminal activities.

VACC founder Dante Jimenez was quoted as saying that incidents of heinous crimes are on the rise and the perpetrators do not seem to fear the authorities.

Valte gave assurance that the government’s drive against illegal drugs is continuous.

“There should be no let-up, not only in the campaign against drugs but also in the effort to bring down the crime rates,” she said, noting that police visibility helps a lot in preventing criminal activities.

On Wednesday, UST graduate Cyrish Magalang, 20, was found dead in a vacant lot in Gawaran Heights, Bacoor, Cavite.

The tourism cum laude graduate was hogtied and had 49 stab wounds. Her head was smashed almost beyond recognition.

Rolin Gacita, 27, and his brother Roel, 24, both residents of Molino 3 in Bacoor, were arrested for the crime last Thursday.

Authorities said the suspects’ motive was to rob the victim. Magalang, however, resisted, prompting the suspects to stab her 49 times.

Police said Rolin had repeatedly stabbed Magalang with a screwdriver to prevent her from escaping. The suspect has admitted killing the victim but denied raping her.

Rolin, who admitted to using drugs, said he had a quarrel with his wife before the incident.